According to the ILO, the temporary and short-term recovery of the youth labor market that began after the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled.
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The International Labour Organization (ILO) indicated that the global youth unemployment rate increased from 12.3% in 2024 to 12.4% last year, corresponding to 67 million unemployed people aged 15–24.
Meanwhile, the share of youth who are neither working nor studying slightly increased to 20%, encompassing more than 257 million people, according to the ILO report “Global Youth Employment Trends 2026”.
This report, first published in 2004, annually provides an overview of global and regional youth labor market indicators.
The report found that the largest increase in youth unemployment was recorded in higher-income countries, “which shatters the hopes of millions of young people starting their working lives.”
“Slowing global economic growth, reduced job creation, geopolitical tensions, and rapid technological changes together make the transition from school to decent work increasingly difficult for many young people,” the report states.
The ILO states that youth unemployment rates are expected to stabilize at 12.3% in 2026 and 2027.
Artificial intelligence and anxiety
The report states that anxiety is growing among young people, and little is known about AI’s impact on the labor market. Youth “increasingly express fear that their jobs will be replaced by technology and that unprecedented technological (and other future-of-work-related) changes will block their opportunities to secure stable employment and income.”
The ILO Director of Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department, Sukti Dasgupta, told journalists that it is still too early to directly discuss a causal link between the spread of AI and rising youth unemployment. However, “this coincidence is entirely real,” she said and called for more research.
S. Dasgupta said that the global economy is currently experiencing “huge uncertainty and instability” as “new AI-related risks emerge. None of these circumstances bode well for youth.”
The report found a decline in jobs that have traditionally been entry points for youth into the labor market, including office and administrative positions, sales jobs, and manufacturing work.
“A generation that cannot find decent work cannot confidently build its future,” said ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo. “When young people are blocked from accessing quality employment, countries lose talent, productivity, and social cohesion. Creating decent jobs for young people is not only a social necessity but also one of the smartest investments a country can make.”
